FlyAkeed raises $25.15 million in equity and business travel financing for large enterprises

FlyAkeed, a Saudi corporate-travel technology platform, has raised SR94.3 million ($25.15 million) in growth funding to expand its services for large enterprises. The funding round includes an equity investment from Sanabil Investments, a financial investment company owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), as well as participation from Artal Capital, stc group's corporate venture capital fund, and Aljazira Capital. Artal Capital also led the pioneer Shariah-compliant Murabaha sukuk financing for FlyAkeed.

The primary focus of the funding will be on developing a new deferred payment offering, which will provide businesses with more flexible payment terms for settling travel invoices. The Kingdom's business travel expenses exceeded $10 billion in 2024 and are expected to roughly double by 2033 due to giga-projects, global events, and Saudi Arabia's growing role as a regional headquarters hub.

However, business travel has largely remained a manual process, with finance teams facing challenges such as a lack of visibility and significant spend leakage from out-of-policy bookings.

FlyAkeed aims to replace these challenges by providing a single operating system for corporate travel. Employees can book flights, hotels, and ground transportation within company policy, with approvals happening automatically or routed to the appropriate manager. Finance teams can manage policies, workflows, and spend from a single dashboard, ensuring that every riyal is visible from request to reconciliation.

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Riyadh, FlyAkeed currently serves over 150 corporate clients across Saudi Arabia, including PIF, Maaden, Golf Saudi, and the National Housing Company.

Bassam Almohammadi, Founder and CEO of FlyAkeed, stated that corporate travel in the region still relies on phone calls, WhatsApp groups, and spreadsheets. FlyAkeed aims to replace this outdated system with an operating system that ensures every trip adheres to policy, every riyal is visible in real-time, and every approval is processed in seconds.

The company has received strong support from Sanabil Investments, Artal Capital, tali ventures, and Aljazira Capital, and is now set to become the standard for how enterprises in the Gulf move.